American Idiot coming to BU

American Idiot, The National Broadway Tour will come to Bloomsburg University on Friday, March 7, at 8 p.m. Mitrani Hall, Haas Center for the Arts. Tickets are $45 for adults, $22 child/BU student. The show is part of Bloomsburg's Celebrity Artist Series.

Green Day’s multi-platinum album “American Idiot,” exploded on the punk rock music scene in 2004 selling over 12 million copies to become one of the best-selling albums of all time and winning the Grammy for Rock Album of the Year.

In 2010 one of Broadway’s most accomplished creative teams, led by Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening), two-time Tony Award-winning composer and orchestrator Tom Kitt (Next to Normal) and Olivier Award-winning choreographer Steven Hoggett (Black Watch), brought the rock opera to the Broadway stage in this tale of three lifelong friends: one who will fight for his dreams, one who will fight for his country and one who will stay behind frozen in the safety of suburbia. The show has been described as “FLAT OUT ELECTRIFYING” by the Boston Globe and “UNBRIDLED ROCK ENERGY” by the San Francisco Chronicle. American Idiot Contains Adult Content and Strong Language Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong never thought he would end up producing a Broadway musical. It is a long way from mosh pits and singing to thousands of punk rock fans in stadiums around the world. So when Tony Award winning director, Michael Mayer, suggested turning Green Day’s multi-platinum selling album, “American Idiot,” into a staged musical, something magical was bound to happen.

 American Idiot Contains Adult Content and Strong Language

See a making of American Idiot movie

In support of the March 7 presentation of American Idiot as part of the next Celebrity Artist Series, a documentary — the making of Broadway’s American Idiot — will be shown at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28, at 7 pm,  in the newly renovated Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium. The film, which is open free to the public, chronicles the momentous collaboration between rock and roll icons, Green Day and the “Great White Way” to turn the mega hit, Platinum selling album, American Idiot into a staged Broadway musical. 

Get your tickets early. Some of these may sell out.

Bloomsburg University has announced its 2012-2013 Celebrity Artist Series season with a set of shows that range from modern dance to Monty Python.

Some of these shows will likely sell out ... Spamalot, Kathy Mattea in particular. So if you're going to get tickets ... sooner rather than later would be a good idea. A few will likely be near sellouts ... The Midtown Men comes to mind ... the chinese circus too. Fact: almost all of the seats in Haas Auditorium are pretty good ... but if you want the best seats, where you can see the dancers and performers glistening ... get your tickets early.

First show in the series is Squirm Burpee by a troupe that calls itself the Handsome Little Devils.
(In the 8 to 5, I do a lot of the promotional materials for the series, and  initially I had a tough time wrapping my head around what the show was ... the more I looked into it the cooler it seems. I have an 8-year-old and I think she might dig this. — EGF.)  Looks like we should expect comedy, juggling, song, dance and a plot with a Snidely Whiplash type character — Baron Vegan von Hamburger. Satisfyingly silly.

This is set for BU's Parents' Weekend, Saturday, Sept. 15, ... so tickets will get scarce if you wait. Showtime is 7 p.m. in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Tickets run. $34.50/$19.50 Child/$17 BU student. Details from BU.

The rest of the series.

• Saturday, October 20 — Koresh Dance Company, 8 p.m.
• Friday, November 16 — Cirque Chinois, 8 p.m.
• Sunday, December 9 — The Midtown Men, 7:30 p.m.
• Friday, February 8 — Monty Python’s Spamalot, 8 p.m.
• Sunday, February 17— Luciana Souza, 7:30 p.m. (Carver Hall's Gross Auditorium)
• Friday, April 5 — DALA, 7:30 p.m. (Carver Hall's Gross Auditorium)
• Friday, April 26 — Kathy Mattea, 8 p.m.
• Saturday, May 11 — Nai-Ni Chen with the Ahn Trio, 8 p.m.

Spamalot and Mattea will be big sellers. Luciana Souza is a Brazilian superstar and DALA is a upcoming Canadian folk duo ... the venue for those is Carver Hall's Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium. It's a beautiful and intimate setting. I've been told that Koresh is known for the striking athleticism of their work. The Ahn Trio has been to Bloomsburg a number of times. I have some of their discs and they really bring an both a perspective to classical music that's both fresh and approachable ... they have a really elegant take on the Doors (looks like authentic cell-phone video from a show with decent quality). This time, they're performing with a dance troupe ... different. I'm not a Broadway guy so I don't know anything about Midtown Men or the Cirque Chinois at this point. — EFG.

The Color Purple

The national Broadway tour of the musical, “The Color Purple,” will be at the Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall, Saturday, Feb. 18, at 8 p.m. as part of the Celebrity Artist Series.

The show, which honors Women’s History and Black History months, is part of BU’s Celebrity Artist Series. Tickets are $34.50 for adults and $19.50 for children.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker, “The Color Purple” follows the experiences of Celie, a young black girl living in the southern United States during the early 20th century. Celie suffers years of abuse at the hands of her father, who then sends her away to marry a cruel man. By telling her story, Celie shares the struggles of her sister and other strong women close to her. Entrepreneur and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey, who played Sofia in the 1985 film adaptation, transformed this tale into a stage musical which opened in 2005. The soundtrack features blues, gospel, jazz and ragtime numbers. The stage performance has received a Tony award and a Grammy nomination.

 Upcoming events are:

• Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Saturday, March 31, at 8 p.m. Tickets: $34.50. 
• Jazz musicians Grace Kelly and Phil Woods, Friday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $34.50. 

For additional information, visit www.bloomu.edu/CAS or call (570) 389-4409.

Guitar, flute concert marks new arts endeavor

Musicians Tracey Schmidt-Jaynes and Matthew Slotkin will perform a concert on Tuesday, Nov. 1, at 7:30 p.m. at the Moose Exchange in downtown Bloomsburg. The performance is the first event sponsored by Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Visual and Performing Arts. The show is open to the public free of charge.

The duo draws inspiration from popular and dance music from Spain and the Americas. With Schmidt-Jaynes playing flute and Slotkin on guitar, they will play a variety of music, from re-imagined Appalachian folk music to tangos.

Schmidt-Jaynes is assistant professor of music at Bloomsburg University. She has studied and played music throughout much of the United States, including a solo performance at the National Flute Convention in Chicago. She is a member of the MidSouth Flute Society’s advisory board and chairs the organization’s young artist competition. In addition to teaching, she is a piccoloist for the Williamsport Symphony.

Slotkin is an instructor and director of the guitar program at BU. He has performed in a variety of settings, including solo performance, chamber music, and as a soloist with an orchestra. He has played music worldwide, with his most recent tours bringing him to Australia, Greece, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. He has given numerous master classes and worked with several prominent chamber ensembles. The American Record Guide applauded him for his “musical sensitivity and technical control” on his album, “Twentieth Century Music for Guitar.”

Spring Awakening at BU Friday

A new entry in the Rock Opera category is coming to BU Friday, April 8.

Music is by Grammy Award-winners Duncan Sheik (Barely Breathing) and Steven Sater. The show has won a cool eight Tony Awards, including 2007 musical of the year. The show, inspired by Frank Wedekind’s play that was banned for 100 years in Germany, remains controversial for its honest depiction of the issues of adolescence, including sexuality, independence and the fear of not measuring up. If you have children, call a sitter, this one's not for the kids. There will be a gallery talk an hour before curtain. Tickets are $30, the upper end of Celebrity Artist Series shows ... a fantastic bargain by Broadway standards.

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